Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (Italian: Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in southern Italy from 1816 until 1861. It was created by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies, after the Congress of Vienna of 1814, by uniting the Kingdom of Sicily and the Kingdom of Naples, which had been ruled by Joseph Bonaparte who conferred the title "Prince of Naples" to be hereditary on his children and grandchildren, during the reign of Napoleon. The ruling dynasty was a cadet branch of the House of Bourbon.

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies Regno delle Due Sicilie
1816–1861
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Inno al Re (Hymn to the King)
Location of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies within Europe in 1839.
Capital	Palermo (1816–1817) Naples (1817–1861)
Common languages	Neapolitan, Sicilian, Italian, Arberesh, Molise Croatian, Griko, Greek-Bovesian, Gallo-Italic of Sicily
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Government	Absolute monarchy (1816–1848; 1849–1861) Constitutional monarchy (1848–1849)
King
• 1816–1825	Ferdinand I (first)
• 1859–1861	Francis II (last)
History
• Edict of Ferdinand IV of Naples	12 December 1816
• Garibaldi's landing in Sicily	5 May 1860
• Declaration of Unification	17 March 1861
Area
1860	111,900 km2 (43,200 sq mi)
Population
• 1860	8703000
Currency	Two Sicilies ducat
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Sicily Kingdom of Naples Kingdom of Italy
Today part of	Italy

A map showing the whole of Italy with the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in red at the bottom.

The capital of the kingdom was Naples. Roman Catholicism was the state religion. The kingdom was full of corruption and poverty: mainly because of this, most of the population welcomed the Risorgimento with the unification of southern Italy to the rest of Italy in 1861.

In 1861, Giuseppe Garibaldi and his men, who were known as "red shirts", captured Sicily. This was welcomed by the local population. Garibaldi then crossed the Strait of Messina and captured Naples. South Italy and Sicily then joined the Kingdom of Italy.

Administrative division

The peninsula was divided into fifteen "departments" and the island of Sicily was divided into seven departments. The island itself had a special administrative status, with its base at Palermo.

After the Two Sicilies were conquered by Garibaldi, the departments became provinces of Italy.

Royal family

For a time the heir to the throne was given the title of "Hereditary Prince of Naples". But this was later changed to the Duke of Calabria after the uniting of the two kingdoms. Collectively the royal family generally lived at the Palace of Caserta. Children of the monarch were born with the style of Royal Highness as well as the title of Prince/ss of the Two Sicilies. Several males in the family were given titles such as "Duke of Castro", "Count of Caserta", "Prince of Salerno", a majority of which were lost due to a lack of male heirs. The present pretending monarch is Infante Carlos, Duke of Calabria, who does use the title of Duke of Calabria.

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King Joseph I of Naples and the two Sisleys

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Peninsula Capital 1 Abruzzo Ultra I Teramo 2 Abruzzo Ultra II Aquila 3 Abruzzo Citra Chieti 4 Contado di Molise Campobasso 5 Terra di Lavoro Capua, from 1818 Caserta 6 Province of Naples Naples 7 Principato Ultra Avellino(*) 8 Principato Citra Salerno 9 Capitanata originally San Severo, then Foggia 10 Terra di Bari Bari 11 Terra d'Otranto Lecce 12 Basilicata Potenza 13 Calabria Citra Cosenza 14 Calabria Ultra II Catanzaro 15 Calabria Ultra I Reggio

Insular Capital 16 Caltanissetta Caltanissetta 17 Catania Catania 18 Girgenti Girgenti 19 Messina Messina 20 Noto Noto 21 Palermo Palermo 22 Trapani Trapani

* The city of Benevento was formally included in this department, but it was occupied by the Papal States and was de facto an exclave of that country.